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Friday, December 30, 2011

Culture Corner: The People

It’s
a pity that the sheer number of Chinese people is the prime reason for
their pollution problem. The factories necessary to support such a mass
and the trash they subsequently generate would be much less polluting
were their population quartered. I say a “pity” because, Chinese people
are the best thing about China. They are friendly, wily, honest,
misleading, funny, racist, lazy, ambitious, trustworthy, liable to cheat
you out of money, arrogant, humble, proud, modest, kind, hospitable,
curious, and blessed with a lack of body odor. Except for the last,
they are just like people everywhere else in the world. But, if I may
indulge in a few generalities (aka stereotypes), I can create a few
distinctions that sets them apart from other groups and makes them
wonderful.

Chinese
people are like a school of fish in the ocean that moves en masse. It
seems what one knows, they all know, and what one does, they all do.
They become completely baffled when I tell them a rogue idea passed on
by a fellow Chinese person, for example “Chinese people secretly admire
the Japanese for their ingenuity.” “It can’t be!” they reply, “No
Chinese person would say that. Are you sure you understood them?” “Good
question.”, I reply. Constantly receiving mixed messages in their
attempts at being polite rather than direct, I’m often unsure what
exactly Chinese people are insinuating when in public situations.
Therefore, I can only create a vague cultural rule: homogeneity is
good.

There
are times when this inter-dependency confuses me. Many Chinese people
have told me they feel uncomfortable when alone on empty roads - day or
night - as though the close press of the teeming mass is somehow
necessary or comforting. Those who have been in a Western country find
its streets to be scary, the relative emptiness throwing them for a
cultural loop.

But
as they are so afraid to offer an opinion that might differ from the
herd’s, the mindset of being part of the crowd rather than a face in the
crowd, also makes for difficult teaching. When I ask them why they are
so silent after getting no response to what I think is a simple
question, they reply: “We are being polite by giving someone else the
chance to speak.” (Translated: “I don’t want to say anything lest
others think I’m strange.”) To which I counter: “Well, if everybody is
waiting for somebody else to speak, nobody speaks.” (Translated:
“Somebody say something, anything. Help me make this hour pass!) To
which they smile and say: “Yes, yes!” (Translated: “Just write something
on the board so we can copy it.”) I want to scream: “Grow a spine.
Your classmates will not stone you! Loose your individuality! Give me a
thought that is not someone else’s or that I haven’t heard from fifty
other people!” But I digress, because:

Chinese
inter-dependency is also something very beautiful. It means their
society functions at a level more socially normal. Their family lives
are far more cohesive than the abusive, old age home, juvenile detention
center, divorce court of America. Each person has a role, and they
depend on each other to perform it, youngest to oldest. They care for
all of their family members in their homes until death. This means they
do not dump them at a nursing home when they are no longer functionally
valuable (i.e. earning money), but continue to appreciate what
immaterial things they have to offer even after their economically
productive life is finished. As every role is vital, it also means that
Chinese people are far less likely to leave home to live in a place so
far distant as we are. And if they do, their role becomes a financial
one where they constantly send money home. It goes without saying
almost all young people’s holidays are spent with their families rather
than cruising the Caribbean, satisfying personal interests.

In
general, Chinese family lives are healthy and harmonious. Having only
their own bowl of rice at the dinner table, those gathered share all the
other plates and dishes on the table. For me, this is highly symbolic
of the strength in the bonds connecting the families, and something we
are losing more of everyday in the west.

When
first meeting a Chinese person, inevitably they will be very shy - like
a child - especially the women, who are often rendered literally
speechless. I’d like to think this is my “Blad Pitta” good looks, but we
know this is not the case. It’s just part of their culture. The
retention of childhood innocence such a prized virtue, many Chinese
people are adult bodies containing the minds of children. This is not
to say they cannot be ambitious in the business world or lack
responsibility, rather that the humor they appreciate and situations
they enjoy (think karaoke!) are what westerners would consider simple,
or immature.

This
can be both annoying and awesome. A forty-five year old women pouting
and sulking like a child: annoying. Thirty year old men giggling and
tee-heeing at the mention of kissing and hugging: awesome. Having the
ability to laugh sincerely at the simple things in life and to have fun
like a child - without an air of maturity: awesome. The lack of poop,
pee, and sex being the continual punch line to jokes: awesome. I guess
it comes down to which version of immaturity you prefer: the innocent,
childish variety in China or the toilet variety in America.

However,
a Chinese person’s shyness is quickly forgotten as their duty to be a
good host comes to mind, and sets them to action, especially the men,
doing things for you whether you ask or not. They believe the good name
of China is on the line with a foreigner and are out to prove it’s a
good place. Usually this involves repeatedly filling your plate with
food and giving you gifts. As a result, I have learned to be very
careful what I say, as even the slightest word in passing may cause one
of them to go and buy you a new wallet (even though you were only being
sarcastic about the age of the one you had). Most of them will drop
whatever they are doing (e.g. pregnant wife) to usher you by the arm to
the place miles away you simply wanted directions to. They are
incredibly hospitable.

In
everything except for the price of goods, I’ve found the Chinese people
are extremely honest and worthy of trust - another thing they believe
in en masse. I could ask a complete stranger on the street to
hold a Y100 note for me and an hour later return to find him waiting for
me. How many of you would do this in a city of 5 million in America?
When telling stories, no matter how detrimental to their own character,
the Chinese believe in telling things as they happened and are not prone
to exaggeration to make their story sound better. Nor do they protect
their innocence when describing an incident gone wrong, that is, lying
instead to escape a situation. They will tell it like it is, no matter
the consequences. As I am so distrustful of Americans in general (e.g.
“Thanks for letting me borrow this. I’ll get it right back to you right
away.”), I feel comfortable loaning out books, CDs, etc. here. I’ve always gotten it back.

In
America we’ve all heard the sob stories from the ghettos and backwoods
towns: “There are no jobs so I had to turn to a life of crime to support
myself. That’s why I stole the old lady’s oxyxontin.” Well, here in China, the poverty level is much higher than the American ghetto. Some
people live in conditions even the ghetto folk would find appalling.
With their shoebox shape and bare concrete walls, sometimes I think the
poor’s housing is like prison. But despite the living conditions and
poverty, crime is virtually non-existent. The police do not even carry
guns, allowing the 1.3 billion to move about as they please. Children
run free on the streets and can play wherever and however they want.
Instead of having a nation of fences and strangers (aka potential
criminals instead of potential friends), they trust each other, after
all everyone else is Chinese and can be trusted to be thinking just like
them. Instead of turning to crime, the poor simply buckle down, work
harder, and set their standards lower. There seems no excuse for those in the ghettos of America…

Now I will take a break to tell a story:

When
looking for another job this semester, I went to several English
schools to inquire. At all of the schools, I was ushered in, treated
well, and pummeled with questions; they couldn’t believe a foreigner
would seek them out for a job as they have so much trouble wooing native
English speakers to their school in the first place. I thought this
boded well, and after the interview, left with an even better feeling as
everything went according to plan: they needed a foreign teacher, they
liked me, and they said to go home and wait for their eminent call. So,
I went home and waited. But of all the schools, none – I repeat, none -
of them called me back. I talked to my students about this and they
laughed. “We’ll call you later.” is apparently the Chinese
way of saying: “We won’t call you later.” They were being indirect, and
I had to know something about this previously in order to decipher
their code. The reasoning is: saying ‘no’ directly might hurt the
person’s feelings. I wonder what psychologists think…

Due to the en masse
thinking, patriotism may not exist anywhere else in the world as
strongly as it does in China. But don’t worry, my students assure me
China has no interest in starting a war with America, in fact, they are
slightly worried about the US attacking them. Their thinking is
supported by the following: foreign wars started by China in the last
2,000 years: 0. Foreign wars started or joined needlessly
by America in the past 50 years: unknown, but at least five the author
can think of: Korea, Vietnam, Israel, Kuwait, and Iraq. It goes without
saying the Chinese are not fighters and prefer a tacit,
non-violent approach to resolving situations in their personal lives,
rather than fighting it out. I have yet to see one fight here, let alone
the beginning of any offensives directed at the US.

I
could write boatloads more about the people here, but hopefully the
little nutshells I gave you will provide at least a peek (at my opinion)
of their character.